Raising Up Voices: Edōsdi’s Research Journey of Ancestral Teachings, Language, Art, and Community

Voiceability: With our voices we teach

From her beginnings as a trained elementary school teacher to her current role as a faculty member in Indigenous Education, Edōsdi’s work has been guided by a framework that she first articulated nearly fifteen years ago, drawn directly from the teachings of her Ancestors: Dahdzōle ełke’sidī | With our voices we teach, also known as Voiceability.

This framework articulates three interwoven responsibilities:

• Kode’ī | receiving the teachings
• Yēdīch | learning, knowing, and embodying the teachings
• Ke’ehdī | sharing the teachings 

At its heart, Dahdzōle ełke’sidī expresses an understanding that knowledge is relational and cyclical. It must be received with humility, embodied through lived experience, and then shared in respectful, reciprocal, and responsible ways. For Indigenous scholarly engagement, this framework is about giving voice to Indigenous peoples within the academy “in a way we have never had access to before.” It is a call for Indigenous scholars and their allies to do research in relationship, guided by community, culture, land, and responsibility.

Honouring her Tahltan and Gitxsan roots, Edōsdi situates her work in a wider movement for Indigenous resurgence. Her scholarship aligns with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action, particularly those focused on language and culture, and with Article 13 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which affirms Indigenous peoples’ rights to revitalize, use, and transmit their languages to future generations. Like UVic’s Aspiration 2030, her work honours the past and respects the future. This is the essence of Dahdzōle ełke’sidī.

A life guided by language and leadership

Edōsdi is matrilineally Tahltan, with patrilineal ties to the Gitxsan Nation. Though she spent much of her early life in the colonial education system, she describes her “true education” as beginning in 1990, when she began to intentionally learn the language and culture of her people. A defining moment came when she began doctoral research focused on the revitalization of the Tāłtān language. At that time, there were approximately 50 fluent speakers still living. The language was labelled “critically endangered”, no longer learned as a first language by children, with very few resources available. The knowledge was precious, and it was at risk.

Upon completing her PhD in 2012, Edōsdi was quickly asked by her Nation to lead the work of revitalizing and reclaiming the Tāłtān language. As Language Director over the next seven years, she developed the Tāłtān Language Reclamation Framework, grounded in Dahdzōle ełke’sidī and represented symbolically by ts’esbedze, the black spruce tree that grows in Tahltan territory. Like the roots, trunk, and branches of the tree, the framework integrated governance, documentation, programming, training and professional development, and holistic approaches to healing and well-being.

Under her leadership, a passionate team of speakers, learners, and knowledge holders formed and took on the immense task of breathing life back into the language. This included the signing of the first language protocol agreement between the three Tahltan governing bodies, and the creation of a new language authority, the Dah Dẕāhge Nodes̱idē / Tāłtān Language and Culture Council.

Language nests were established, where infants and toddlers learned Tāłtān through immersion, surrounded by fluent speakers and learners, like visiting “grandma’s house.” Evening language programs were created for families, and K–8 curriculum was developed for schools. Multimedia learning resources were created and shared through a community website. Partnerships with UVic and SFU opened post-secondary pathways for language learning in community, strengthening capacity in Tahltan territory.

The impact has been profound. The classification of the Tāłtān language shifted from “critically endangered” to “declining,” a significant milestone that reflects a growing number of learners and speakers. Though the passing of fluent Elders remains a reality, the work continues with urgency and strength. Guided by Dahdzōle ełke’sidī, Edōsdi and her team have also shared their model with other Indigenous Nations, demonstrating that language revitalization is both possible and necessary.

Mentorship through art, archives, and relationships

In recent years, Edōsdi’s work has expanded into a powerful, interdisciplinary project that merges art, ancestry, archives, and mentorship. With support from two consecutive Canada Council for the Arts grants, she has digitized more than 20,000 minutes of audio and video recordings and over 2,000 photographs and documents collected (with permission) over the course of more than three decades. These materials include recorded stories, songs, artwork, diaries, and photographs belonging to her Tahltan and Gitxsan families.

One key achievement of the last grant was an exhibit entitled: “From Usk to Dorreen and everywhere in between: The life of Artist Elizabeth Linda Lowrie along the Skeena River.” Edōsdi focused on the art of her paternal grandmother (1907-1986), who was Gitx̱san and a speaker of Gitxsanimaax. The art was displayed at the Museum of Northern BC in Prince Rupert from September to December 2024.

This work is not just archival; it is living. It has brought together 31 artists, knowledge holders, and fluent speakers to create regalia, paintings, jewellery, stories, and songs inspired by Ancestral teachings. Now emerging are multimedia books, graphic novels, children’s literature, and digital platforms that will safely preserve and respectfully share these teachings with present and future generations.

A meaningful current collaboration is with Tahltan artist Waylon Asp, who completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts Hon. In Visual Arts at UVic in Spring 2025. Together, they are co-creating a graphic novel that shares the life stories of her Tahltan grandparents, as well as her grandfather’s paternal Cherokee and Scottish-American grandparents. It is a deeply personal project, rooted in family history and intergenerational storytelling.

Raising others up

For more than thirty years, Edōsdi has lived her name. She has helped learners become teachers and students become leaders. As Language Director, she supported Tahltan educators and team members in pursuing advanced degrees at UVic and SFU. Elders earned language fluency certificates. Students completed diplomas and master’s programs focused on Indigenous Language Revitalization. Many of them now work in schools and communities, continuing this work for future generations.

She continues to mentor Indigenous students at all levels, encouraging the creation of research frameworks based on Ancestral teachings and Indigenous ways of knowing, supporting immersion-based language learning, creating credit-bearing opportunities for community language proficiency, and advocating for institutional change in higher education. She has supervised and supported dozens of graduate students and helped shape initiatives such as the development of a Bachelor of Indigenous Languages Proficiency Degree in BC.

Even in her own learning journey, she remains a mentee. As part of First Peoples' Cultural Council (FPCC)'s Mentor–Apprentice Program, she worked closely with the late Jenny Quock, Tahltan Elder and fluent speaker, deepening her own proficiency and modelling what it means to be a lifelong learner. “I am accountable to my Elders, Ancestors, family, community members, as well as my colleagues and students,” she says. “I must continue to do the work of receiving, understanding, and then sharing these teachings.” 

And so she does. In classrooms, communities, archives, on the land, and through language itself, she raises up voices that have long been silenced, ensuring they are heard, honoured, and remembered.

Looking ahead

Edōsdi continues to advance this important work, but has recently shifted her approach and her pace. Following a long-term disability leave, she has spoken candidly about the pressures placed on Indigenous women in the academy that can lead to illness, burnout and harm. A gradual return to work has reshaped her approach to research, teaching, and care. She now prioritizes sustainability, balance, and gentleness—lessons she shares with students and colleagues who are navigating similar pressures.

This shift has also opened space for creative research directions rooted in joy, connection, and healing. Looking ahead, she is excited to continue collaborating with Indigenous artists, deepening mentorship roles, sharing more Ancestral teachings through art, creating youth centered publications in Indigenous languages, and advancing Voiceability as a guiding framework for Indigenous research.